Monday, July 29, 2013

Aftermath of George Zimmerman Trial: July 29

And the Drama
Continues

Even though the George Zimmerman verdict hype seems to be
dying down thanks to Anthony Weiner and the birth of Prince George, some new
developments have still kept this story in the news. The first came at the end
of last week, when another juror decided to break her silence and talk to ABC about
serving on the jury in the George Zimmerman trial. Juror B29 did show her face
but only allowed herself to be called Maddy out of fear for her safety. Maddy
spoke to Robin Roberts and basically expressed comments that I think a lot of
watchers of this trial were thinking. She said that she felt “George Zimmerman
got away with murder.” Maddy also remarked that in her heart she knew George
Zimmerman was guilty, but she could not convict him because the evidence did
not support her gut instinct. She eventually relied on the letter of the law
when she made her decision to find Zimmerman not guilty stating that there was
just not enough evidence to prove that Zimmerman committed second degree murder
or even manslaughter.

This is a shocking admission from a juror. The only other
juror making public statements was juror B37 (who remained anonymous). She said
she believed that Zimmerman’s actions were correct through and through and she
had no doubts that Zimmerman was innocent. Maddy’s opinion offers a totally
different reading of the case and once again brings the prosecution’s efforts
under scrutiny. Here is a juror who did not need to be convinced of Zimmerman’s
guilt but just needed the evidence to justify her “guilty” vote, and the
prosecution could not deliver it. As more and more details about the trial come
out, I am even more convinced that the prosecution threw the case away. Is
there any way the State Attorney can be investigated for intentionally losing a
case? In fact since the State Attorney is a political position voted on by
Florida citizens, if the majority of these citizens were pro Zimmerman it seems
like the State Attorney solidified her re-election by presenting a weak case. If
anyone should be blamed for the Zimmerman acquittal it should be the
prosecution not the jurors.

Though Juror B29’s admission of wanting to convict George
Zimmerman might have added to the drama of the verdict (and helped Good Morning America once again beat NBC’s
Today Show), it really just added
entertainment to the trial aftermath and did not really address any of the
national issues this verdict now brings to light. Fortunately, Trayvon’s
mother, Sybrina Fulton, is not letting her son die in vain and is trying to
enact some change in local Florida laws to prevent other deaths like her son’s.
Fulton made an appearance at the National Bar Association convention being held
in Miami this year. She made a plea to the lawyers of the nation to fight back
against “Stand Your Ground” laws claiming that this law helped Zimmerman get
away with murder. In fact the National Bar Association supports Fulton’s fight against
“Stand Your Ground” and has asked Florida’s governor and legislature to repeal
the law. Right now the legislature has refused this request claiming that since
the law was instated in 2005, the violent crime rate has declined; however, the
legislature fails to point out that since the law the number of justifiable homicides
has risen.

I will say I am impressed with Sybrina Fulton. This has to
be a very difficult time for her, especially since her son’s killer is free.
But instead of bitching about how the trial was unfair and that her son did not
receive justice, she is trying to enact some positive change for all Florida
citizens by working towards getting this law repealed. It seems like her
crusade is even taking precedence over the civil suit against Zimmerman (nothing
has been reported yet of Trayvon’s family filing suit but you know one is
coming). She seems dedicated to her cause and wants to make sure another person’s
child does not suffer the same fate as Trayvon.

To also help convince Florida lawmakers to repeal the “Stand
Your Ground” law, other activists, most notably Stevie Wonder are requesting a
boycott of Florida.This would mean not
traveling there for vacation, not buying Florida products, basically refusing
to buy or do anything that would support the Florida economy. This boycott
would be similar to the boycott against Arizona when it passed anti-immigration
legislation. Though this sounds like a good idea in theory to force Florida lawmakers
to take another look at “Stand Your Ground,” boycotting Florida is not an easy
answer to success. An article posted on CNN.com lays out the challenges a
boycott faces. First of all, Florida is not the only state with “Stand Your
Ground” laws. In fact 20 states have this law on the books which signifies that
a significant number of Americans support this law. Also people are not going
to immediately cancel their Disney World trips or their visit to their
relatives just because someone is asking them to boycott the state. If the
boycott does become successful and Florida does suffer an economic loss, this
boycott could end up hurting the African American population of the state more
than it is trying to help them by repealing the “Stand Your Ground” law. Florida’s
tourism is one of the leading employers for the state and employs many African
American people. Even Sybrina Fulton thinks boycotting Florida might not be the
right step to solicit change in the legislature.

Well just as with every news story, the George Zimmerman
trial is losing steam, but thanks to Trayvon’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, she is
trying to keep the bigger issues alive and present in the public’s mind. Keep
following this blog for further updates regarding the aftermath of the trial.
Until next time….